Betrothed to the Devil
by SilverLullabies93
Summary: On that day, I became the enemy's possession, she thought as she stood there, knowing her destiny was to be married for convenience to keep the peace between her country. Otogakure proposed a deal to the counsel that they couldn't refuse. Unfortunately Sakura doesn't quite see the pros to being betrothed to Orochimaru.
1. Prologue

_I do not own Naruto_

_If I did, his name would be "Wasabi"_

XxXx

Lies.

All lies.

All of it.

Tell them you're lying!

It's some sick joke, right?

Tsunade, tell everybody your kidding!

Come on Kakashi! It's a lie!

Don't turn away! Look at me!

It's a lie!

It has to be a lie!

Why him?

Of all people! Why him?

No, tell them you're lying!

Why is he here? Right now, here?

Tsunade stop him!

I can here someone screaming! Is…is it me?

It's me!

He's touching me!

Oh my Kami, why is he touching me?

No! Stop! GO back!

I'm not yours!

Blood?

I can taste blood in my mouth.

Is it…it's blood, I'm biting him.

His hands….so cold.

Tsunade! Stop him!

Please! Don't take me away from Konoha!

Please! It's not too late

STOP!

He's pressing my pressure point!

I'm falling into darkness.

No!

Go back!

I don't want you!

It's all a fucking lie! 

XxXx

Sakura shot out of bed with a shudder. Her skin damp with sweat glowed in the dying embers of the fire that previously resided in the fireplace. She glanced around, green eyes darting wildly in the darkness. Then she sighed and collapsed on the bed.

Her hand flopped against something hard and she turned her head to gaze at it. It was a journal.

Slowly, she brought it to her face and read the first and only entry in the journal.

_July 6th_

_'My name is Sakura Haruno. I was once a Konoha nin, apprentice to the Hokage Tsunade. Now, I am an Otogakure medic. I am 15 years old. And I am betrothed to the devil named Orochimaru.'_


	2. Hebi

_I do not own Naruto._

_If I did I'd ship Naruto and Sai_

XxXx

**Two: Hebi**

The first time she had seen him, he was starring at her with cold amber eyes from the pages of a Bingo Book. She had read over his stats, feeling a little scared just reading the words and what he had done to earn his S-rank criminal status. _Name: Orochimaru – Birthday: October 27__th__ – Gender: Male – Age: 50 – Height: 179.4cm – Weight: 63.9kg – Classification: Sannin. Sage. S-rank. Missing-nin _

The text went on to describe his affiliations, rank, nature type, known jutsu, known weapons of choice, how many missions he completed while a Konoha nin (1,468 in total: 16 D-rank, 332 C-rank, 521 B-rank, 491 A-rank, and 108 S-rank), and nature of his crimes. She would never admit it to anybody but herself, but she was slightly impressed with him. Not with his crimes of course, but with his strength and power. So far in the Bingo book, she had just read about missing nin who weren't really powerful or a cause of immediate concern for ANBU, but then she skipped ahead to the most wanted and his was one of the first on the list.

That had been the first time she had seen or heard about Orochimaru and as she closed the book and put it on her nightstand, she reflected that it wasn't as if she was going to ever meet the man. She wasn't strong enough and she was sure his presence would be taken care of by ANBU by the time she was. So she shoved the thought of S-rank criminals out of her mind, turned off her light, and began to fantasize about the younger Uchiha.

XxXx

The second time she had seen him had been in the Forest of Death. She felt frozen by the smirk on his face when he ripped the face he had on, off. It had been years since she thought of the missing-nin and now that he stood in front of her and Sasuke, suddenly every bit of information she had read about him that time came flooding back to her.

She had been scared before with Zabuza, but nothing comparable to this. She watched hopelessly on as Sasuke and then eventually Naruto fought the man in what she knew was a hopeless battle. She danced in her spot wanting to run and help Sasuke-kun, but knowing she would just get in the way. When he had cast his genjutsu on her and the younger Uchiha, it had taken every ounce of self-control for her not to bend over and throw up.

Eventually he was gone leaving her breathing a sigh of relief that she no longer had to stare at his mocking golden eyes. She would have passed out from pure joy had her injured teammates not spared her into action to protect them.

When the Sound-nin came she felt a little smug. They were nothing compared to Orochimaru and so she felt confident facing them. Until Lee was injured in the process and her confidence wavered and she reminded herself that they were trained by the snake-sannin, so of course they would be powerful. She still stayed to protect her teammates, fighting a futile battle and one she knew she wouldn't win.

That's why when the InoShikaCho team arrived she accepted their help and focused on protecting her teammates; even if it meant protecting them from themselves.

XxXx

Eventually Orochimaru became an ever present being in her mind. She was always wondering what he was planning next and if he somehow knew she hadn't taken him seriously the first time she had seen him and this was his way of punishing her.

Little by little her life in Konoha began to unravel because of that man. Fear was replaced by hatred and anger. The curse mark, the invasion, and the murder of the Hokage was overshadowed by the immense loathing she felt when Sasuke went to him. Even more so when she saw Kakashi entering the village with Naruto on his back, near death and found herself blaming the man for her blonde teammates state of being.

He had ruined her without sparring her a second glance and a part of her had vowed vengeance.

The years past and she trained. Eventually, Orochimaru sat at the back of her mind as not an immediate concern but an annoyance that needed to be dealt with later. Life as a kunoichi, medic, and apprentice to Tsunade took over her life. She excelled at everything she did and she allowed pride to shine through her eyes. She knew it was thanks to her shishou and the Training-Regime-From-Hell that she was rising through the ranks.

The second time she took the Chunnin exams, she hesitated for a moment before entering the Forest of Death, memories from the last time she had been there filling the void in her mind. Ino, who she had temporarily been placed on a team with saw that and called out to the green eyed girl. Sakura had merely smiled a fake smile, took a deep breath, and stepped inside. The rest had been easy and six hours later they were sitting in the building in the center of the forest, eating refreshments and playing Texas Hold'em with a couple of chunnins and jounins who were quickly realizing that although she was the Slug Princess' apprentice, she did not share that same loosing trait her mentor did.

Just that like, she felt freed from whatever curse that man had put on her. She felt invincible, although she did occasionally think about Sasuke and regrettably That-Snake-Bastard-Orochimaru (as she had gotten taken to calling him). It was inevitable, both had left their wounds and although she had healed, the scars to remind her always remained.

It had been many months since she had thought about the man as more than a passing thought when the counsel had called an emergency meeting. Tsunade had left immediately, leaving Sakura by herself to file some medical paper. She'd been gone nearly three hours when an ANBU appeared in front of her letting her know that her presence was requested at the meeting.

She finished signing her last paper, got up, and left. When she entered the room, she paused as everybody fell silent and turned to face her. A part of her felt as if she was imagining that their were several faces that held pity gazing at her but she shoved it to the back of her mind.

Sakura cleared her throat. "You called for me Hokage-sama?" Not forgetting diplomatics. It was an official meeting, so calling her Tsunade or Shishou wasn't appropriate.

The Slug Princess turned and motioned for her to come in and sit at the chair placed in the center of the room. Feeling nervous all of a sudden, she moved and sat where she was directed wondering all the while if she had done something to warrant this. Was she under investigation for something? Thinking and failing to find an answer to her inquiries, she sat straight and faced the counsel.

"What's this about, Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade began slowly. "... Otogakure." There was a pained expression on her face like she felt dirty just saying the word. "Has proposed a peace treaty."

There was several seconds of silence before Sakura let loose a breath she had been holding. "Whoa."

"Indeed." It was Danzou who had spoken. He leaned forward and eyed the pink haired girl as if trying to scrutinize her. Apparently he found nothing of interest and turned to looked down at the pile of papers sitting in front of him.

"The terms and conditions are impeccable. Orochimaru has agreed to a cease-fire."

Sakura rose an eyebrow. "What's the catch?" Knowing that he was on the verge of starting a war with Konoha and being in the favor of winning, this definitely hadn't been what she'd expected.

"...He." Again the pained expression flashed across Tsunade's face. "Wants a _bride."_ She spat the last word.

The pinkette rose an eyebrow again but couldn't help it and heard more than felt the laughter burst from her lips. "Let me guess, he wants a stay at home wife who cooks and cleans from him in their little cottage at the edge of the village with a nice white picket fence, a couple little snake-brats running around and a dog or two?"

She couldn't help it, she burst out laughing again.

When she had finally calmed down and her lips only twitched every so often, Tsunade spoke again. "No. Just a wife. Nothing else."

Sakura immediately sobered up. "Oh. Whose the unlucky girl?"

"You."

There was a pregnant pause.

"Come again?"

"He has requested you, Sakura Haruno," Danzou spoke in a loud booming voice. "And for the sake of this cease-fire treaty, we as a counsel have all unanimously agreed and voted in favor of this. From this moment, you are hereby discharged with honor from your rank and your duties to fulfill this treaty."

Sakura felt the world around her freeze, as if she was unable to understand exactly what was going on. Even when an ANBU had taken her hiate-ate away from her, she still stared stupefied up at the man.

Her eyes began to shift rapidly around the room, focusing on faces of people she knew were there as if willing someone to explain this to her, or start laughing and declare it the greatest prank ever and "you should have seen your face!"

And then her eyes came to rest on Danzou again and he smiled down at her in a way that couldn't be anything but cruel. "Oh, and Haruno-san? Congratulations on your engagement."

She felt her mind fall away into panic.

_Lies._

_All lies. _

_All of it. _

_Tell them you're lying!_

XxXx

"I'm going to rip you esophagus out of your throat through your ears."

The sound of her own voice jarred Sakura from her sleep. She groaned and rolled over, trying to bury her face further down into the lavender scented sheets. Her neck throbbed and she reached up and began to massage some of the tension away.

What had she been dreaming about again? Thinking back on, she couldn't remember and felt her self sag into the bed as a sign of surrender. She was sure it had been interesting and maybe important, but an expansion of blackness pressed against her head as she tried and failed to recall her dream.

"That sounds painful."

Green eyes snapped open and she rolled away from the voice, out of the bed, feet slapping on the floor, her body lowered defensively. Her eyes darted around the room till they came to rest on the silver haired man sitting on the other side of her bed behind an impressive mahogany table with a tea cup in his hand.

"_Kabuto_." Sakura hissed. He lowered the tea cup and set it down on the table, motioning for her that he meant no harm. She didn't break her defensive stance and instead narrowed her eyes more.

"Would you like some tea?" Kabuto held up a pot for her to see and shook it a little so she could hear the sound of sloshing liquid inside.

"Poison," She answered automatically.

He pursed his lips and poured some into his cup, before taking a long gulp and turning the cup over so she could see it would now empty and as a sign that it wasn't poisoned. Sakura wasn't taking a chance.

"You could have taken the antidote while I was sleeping."

Kabuto sighed. "If I had wanted to kill you, I would have done it _while _you were asleep, not when you had woken up and were able to fight."

_He makes a good point..._

"Then, an interrogation perhaps?"

"We have other methods to interrogate someone and none of them involve tea."

_He makes another good point..._

She had felt over the course of her conversation pulling out her defensive stance. She gave him a once over, before stiffly walking over to the table and lowering herself into the seat opposite of the man. He smiled at her and poured the tea into a new cup. She watched him cautiously, never taking her eyes off of him even after grabbing the cup and brought it to her lips.

She swallowed a gulp.

"Cinnamon flavored?"

"Do you not like it? I can always order a different blend," Kabuto asked.

"No, no. It's fine. Just unexpected I guess." After all, she had expected some sort of bland and flavorless tea. Not something she was reluctant to admit actually tasted decent, if not good. Really good. _Okay, its the best damn tea you've ever had before, _she grudgingly admitted to herself.

She sipped the tea, relishing the fact that it was doing wonders getting rid of the disgusting taste in her mouth. He watched her for a moment before his lips twisted up into a smile. "I'm curious. Have you ever ripped an esophagus out of someone through their ears before?"

She felt herself slacken in surprise. "Wha-?"

"Earlier, when you woke up. You told me you were going to rip mine out through my ears." He mused.

Her eyes widened in remembrance, "Oh! No, but I'd have fun trying."

He chuckled and turned to reach for something behind him. She stiffened ready for a weapon, only for him to produce a scroll and offer it to her. She didn't take it, not chancing that it might be poisoned.

He sighed. "I can see, getting your trust might be difficult, but believe me, I am not trying to kill you."

"You've never really given me any reason _to _trust you." She pointed out. He nodded his head as if realizing this and set the scroll on the table in between them.

She felt curious as she gazed at it, but still didn't risk touching it.

"The treaty." Kabuto answered her unspoken thoughts.

_Treaty? What treaty?_

And then she remembered.

_Oh..._

"I thought you may like a copy," He said, pouring some more tea.

She finally gave up starring at it and decided if she was going to die from poison, she would rather it be now rather than later since her future meant being married to That-Snake-Bastard-Orochimaru. She picked up the treaty, unrolled it, and began to read.

She emerged from the scroll forty-five minutes later and let out a breath she had been holding the entire time she had been reading. She rolled it up and set it on her lap, turning to Kabuto who was in turn, staring at her.

"It's perfect. No loopholes. No nothing. If I marry him, he will issue a cease-fire and no longer target Konoha and her allies." She grudgingly admitted.

Kabuto smiled.

She sighed again and felt a pained expression flit across her face. "By why me?"

"That." Kabuto smiled. "I don't know."

XxXx

Naruto was laughing. He couldn't remember laughing this hard before. He wheezed, hands grasping at his ribs as if his laugh was going to split his sides open and he was holding them together. It almost felt painful to laugh this hard. His lungs and abs were hurting, but for the life of him, he couldn't stop.

There was a sigh somewhere to his right. "Naruto..."

He held his hand up to forestall anyone else interrupting him while he was laughing. Eventually he pulled himself together and stood straighter, wiping the tears away with the back of his hand. "Sorry, Baa-chan, but I couldn't help it. I thought I just heard you say that Orochimaru offered a treaty to back away in exchange for Sakura-chan _marrying _him."

He started chuckling again as he looked around the room, taking in the faces of everyone there.

Now, where was Sakura? Obviously she would come jumping out of the shadows with a "SURPRISE!" soon.

Kami, he missed her. He had been still out with Jiraiya when they summon to return to Konoha had come. It had taken a few days, but here he was. He did feel slightly annoyed that they had pulled him back out of training for a joke, but he supposed he deserved it maybe, after all the pranks he pulled in his day.

After a few minutes of nobody talking, he felt the smile slide off his face. "Baa-chan... if this is a joke..."

He couldn't continue talking and vaguely wondered why their was a crushing feeling in his chest. And why wasn't anybody else saying anything?

Naruto began slowly again. "Baa-chan... have you been drinking?"

Tsunade frowned deeply but remained silent. Everybody was silent.

His eyes narrowed. "You can't be serious."

"Oto has gained support over the past few years. Their numbers were growing superior to ours. A war was approaching and it wasn't favorable for us to win. I'm sorry Naruto, this was the _only _way," The Hokage said.

Rage exploded, "No, it wasn't! We could have gone to war!"

"Naruto..." Jiraiya spoke softly. "The counsel knew that in the face of peace or war; peace would have been a favorable option. They would never choose the path of war if a cease-fire was starring them in the face. If we had gone to war, many people would have died. If we accepted the treaty then nobody had to die."

He rounded at Jiraiya accusingly. "What about Sakura-chan!? She has to die! Her future dies with the treaty!"

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Why Sakura? Why couldn't it have been anybody else?"

"Selfish." Tsunade was suddenly angry. "You would condemn someone else for the sake of your selfishness? I don't want Sakura to do this anymore than you do. She's a strong girl, she can handle it. Stop being a brat and listen to yourself. Sure, she may have been sacrificed, but in the face of a war we wouldn't win, a sacrifice had to be made. If you can't look at the bigger picture and the safety of all of Konoha rather than one individual, than perhaps you're not as suited for Hokage as I thought you were."

Naruto wheeled back as if he had been slapped in the face. The next second he was speeding out of the door, shoving past Kakashi who had been standing outside.

"Tsunade..." Jiraiya began, but paused when he saw the look on her face.

"I shouldn't have said that," She muttered, putting her head in her hands.

The Sage shook his head. "It needed to be said. Naruto needed to see the bigger picture. The one outside of Sakura."

The Hokage didn't answer; instead she pulled out a bottle of sake, popped it open and upturned it.

Jiraiya turned to look at Kakashi who sighed "I'll go watch Naruto."

The older man nodded "And I'll watch her."

Kakashi dipped his head and left the room, tracking Naruto's chakra to outside Konoha's walls. He found him, raging and upturning trees and generally causing a lot of mayhem and havoc.

He watched him for a moment, vaguely noting that there was a touch of red in his eyes, before stepping forward. "Naruto."

The blonde whirred around to face him, anger and hurt on his face gone in an instant as he recognized the Copy-nin. "Kakashi-sensei."

Neither one said anything for a moment, before the older man tilted his head slightly indicating he wanted to be followed. He turned on his heel, and strode out of the forest and back into Konoha, motioning to the ANBU that had been called the destructions presence that he had everything under control.

Naruto followed after him slowly, walking the familiar streets and letting his mind wander. All too soon, though they arrived to their destination: Team Seven's old training ground.

Kakashi sat underneath of a tree, patting the ground in an invitation for the younger boy to do the same.

He stood for a moment longer, before laying on the ground. "Kakashi-sensei, why Sakura?"

There was a moment of silence broken only by the rustling of the trees overhead before the silver haired man sighed. "I wish I knew. But I suppose that Orochimaru has his reasons for doing that. Even if he is warped."

"I don't care," Naruto ground out. "I love Sakura. I want her back."

Kakashi dipped his head in agreement. "I want her back too. She was like a daughter to me; all three of your were like kids to me. But you heard what Tsunade-sama said."

Naruto turned over on his stomach and began pulling grass out from the ground. "Oh, who cares what Baa-chan said," He growled.

The silver haired man sighed and looked up at the sky, praying for some guidance from Obito, Rin, and Minato. "If... if we had gone to war with Oto; it might not have just been Sakura that would have been lost. Other people might have died. Other people you care about. Me, Iruka, Sakura, maybe even Tsunade could have died."

Naruto cried out frustratingly and jerked around for a second. "I know, _I know. _But I still don't like it. Orochimaru doesn't deserve Sakura. He doesn't even deserve Sasuke. Why do good things always happen to bad people and bad things always happen to good people?"

"If you find the answer to that, let me know. I've been wondering about that for a while now."

There was a moment of silence. "I'm going to get her back."

Kakashi sighed again. "That would be breaking a law and make you an S-class. Even if you did break her out and maybe Sasuke, you'd be thrown into prison and all Orochimaru would do is waltz back in here and take them back. He could even start a war for that action. As loath as I am to admit it, but the betrothal is very binding and very legal."

Naruto huffed in irritation. "Because Orochimaru promised to leave Konoha and her allies alone if he was promised a bride of his choosing." He spoke bitterly.

"Exactly, this is our peace treaty and so far Orochimaru has honored it. If we break our part, then we wouldn't just be breaking Konoha's law; we'd be breaking international law."

He swore in reply and punched the ground. "This is unfair."

"I know, Naruto. I know, believe me."

XxXx

Sakura eyed the necklace with a touch of interest. It was made of soft leather, sitting comfortably on the nape of her neck. In the center, was a hole, inlaid with gold, a small chain connected to it with a rather handsome looking emerald attached. She felt vaguely uneasy wearing something so expensive, but shoved it to the back of her mind and turned to Kabuto.

"A betrothal necklace," She asked incredulously.

The man nodded his head. "It's so Orochimaru-sama can keep track of your health and well-being."

She turned back to the bathroom mirror and eyed the jewelry again. "And I suppose the fact that it can't be taken off till the wedding day, tracks my whereabouts, and diminishes my chakra to nearly non-existent state has nothing to do with it?"

"We wouldn't want you to get lost."

After all, it was an ancient piece of jewelry that clans used several hundred years ago to make sure a woman forced into a betrothal didn't run away before he took her to bed on their wedding night and impregnated her.

Sakura pouted. "But... but, it's so old-school!" She burst out. "How did he even get his hands on one of these anyway? They're so rare."

She saw Kabuto shrug his shoulders out of the side of her vision, before dropping her hands away from the necklace and fully turning to face him. She was about to accuse him of lying before she saw he was eying the necklace with a look of interest and figured that this was his first time actually seeing it, and maybe he really didn't know where Orochimaru got his hands on one.

She sighed in defeat and walked out of the bathroom and back into what Kabuto had introduced as her room. She had felt relieved when she realized that she hadn't needed to share a room with That-Snake-Bastard for quiet some time, but then realized she would eventually have to, which put a damper on her mood quickly.

She sat down on the bed and looked around. It was a nice room, she had to admit. It was big, with a large King sized bed. A large book case lined one of the walls filled with books she was itching to get her hands on. On the other side of her room was the mahogany table, a desk, her closet, a fireplace, and the door to the bathroom. Directly across from her bed was the door that lead out.

Seeing the direction of her gaze, Kabuto smirked. "Is there anywhere you would like to go?"

She was half tempted to say 'Konoha', but her stomach growled, causing her to blush.

"The kitchen it is then," He said, motioning for her to follow him. She stood up, careful to stay close enough to the man in case she got lost. They turned several corners, before stopping in front of a door, and entering inside.

The kitchen was large, with more than enough counter space and a large island with stools decorated around it in the middle of the floor. The cupboards were white and the floor a light brown. The counters were dark and the stove and fridge a stainless steel. Off to the side she could see a storage room with even more food inside.

She whistled out lowly, causing Kabuto to chuckle as he moved towards the fridge, allowing her to sit at the table. He pulled some ingredients out; eggs, meats, cheese, and some spices, and began to work on making an omelet on the stove.

She watched him out of boredom and because she had nothing better to do, ignoring the growling sounds in her stomach as she began to smell and hear the sizzle from the food being cooked. In no time at all, he was presenting her with an omelet that looked better than she had ever seen in her entire life and immediately began scarfing it down.

Kabuto raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were afraid of poison?"

She paused. "Did you poison it?"

He shook his head and so Sakura shrugged her shoulders and continued eating. After all, if she was going to die she'd rather it be eating something delicious. Besides it did seem as if Kabuto was actually serious about this whole betrothal thing and didn't want her dead. Maybe maimed, but not dead.

She sat back when she finished and gave a satisfied sigh, "Damn that was good. Better than anything I've had lately."

"Konoha does not have decent supply of food?"

Sakura slowly shook her head. "No, it has pretty good food. But for the past week I haven't left the hospital and the food there..." She gave a nauseated noise and shivered mechanically to gave a fair description of the food.

Kabuto, though looked amused, looked as if he understood at least how... unique hospital foods could be. For a second, the rosette felt herself smile, then realized who she was talking to and where she was and immediately cut off all emotions to her face.

He seemed to notice it and sighed before standing and grabbing her dishes. Coupled with the cooking utensils, he cleaned them and returned them to their proper places.

"Don't you have slaves or something to do that for you," Sakura asked curiously. She had always imagined bad guys having unwilling subordinates doing their chores and things for them.

Kabuto turned to her and rose an eyebrow. "As a ninja, its always his duty to make sure that your equipment is up to par, clean, and ready to be used as a moments notice. And well, this is no kunai." he held up her plate. "But it's still equipment I use."

She nodded her head understandingly. It may have been a ninja lesson, but that didn't mean that they couldn't implicate their lessons into their daily life.

She opened her mouth to remark, but the door to outside swung open with a bang causing Sakura to jump into a defensive stand; allowing an opposing figure to walk inside, who immediately froze upon seeing her.

Sakura felt her mouth go dry as she looked up at him, face white, and eyes wide in surprise. The next second the look was gone and she felt herself slump back down into the chair with an air of indifference.

Cocking her chin up, she nodded to the other man in acknowledgment.

"You're looking well, Sasuke."

XxXx

**Important Author's Note: **

**Okay, so after many years, I've decided to pick this one up again. I forgot where I was going with this initially, but managed to remember bits and pieces and spring a new story with it. **

**I'm re-editing chapters, because I have a hard time reading the style of writing I wrote many years ago, so I'm sure you guys have too. I'm keeping the original chapters roughly the same; taking out unnecessary plot scenes, filling in time gaps, expanding character dialogue to fit better with Canon, explaining details I either left out long ago or simply didn't harp to expand on. **

**I've added several key differences from my original story plot: Explanation between Sakura and Orochimaru's past together without deriving too much from Canon, explained why the Counsel would have agreed to the peace treaty (which I noticed I neglected to inform the readers before), established a time frame (somewhere in between the two year time-skip but before Sasuke killed Orochimaru and before the Akatsuki became too much of a nuisance, but after Sakura became adapt enough in medical jutsu), I also explained why in better detail that the characters like Naruto would simply have to accept the treaty pushing on legalities rather than "Because I'm Hokage and I said so". **

**I, however, have taken things out: One being that "rape" scene I had wrote between her, Kabuto, and Sasuke. I don't know _what _I was thinking writing that, but it seems to be that if Orochimaru wanted to gain her trust, he wouldn't order them to rape her. I've taken out the chakra-stealing bracelet, instead replaced it with the betrothal necklace that has an explanation and a background. Emo scenes from the characters were taken out. It seems to be that, since I want to remain as close to Canon as possible with the personalities, that Naruto would become irrationally angry, Tsunade would drink, and Kakashi would look at it from a diplomatic point of view to stop from feeling like failure as he did with Minato, Rin, and Obito; rather than them all becoming mindless crying blobs. **

**I also took out the scene where Konoha 12 was present at the counsel. To me, that would seem, irrational. It would seem to be a diplomatic meeting and made on a "need-to-know" at this moment. Anybody who wasn't immediately effected, guards, or the Counsel would have been denied access due to protocol. All others would be informed later. **

**Sakura is more mature in this with a better fine-honed ninja senses than the Sakura I wrote before, who was irrational and replied solely on her emotions. Don't get me wrong, she's still going to insult Kabuto and Sasuke as much as possible for the lulz.**

**Kabuto is a bit more suave than he is in Canon. I've likened him to Sebastian from Black Butler a little, considering Orochimaru would have ordered him to watch her and to help her out. He's more rational in this version than in my older writings. **

**As for Sasuke, he won't be as hotheaded and unreasonable in his actions as before, except when dealing with Itachi (who won't be in this story, sorry fangirls). **

**As for everything else, I'm keeping it the same. Expanding on the story, adding in background, and filling up the many time holes I had in the older version. But through an chain of events, there will still be a war, still be shit that goes down, and eventually OroXSaku moments. **

**That's about it. Ja-ne **

**Please review! **


	3. Fangs

_I do not own Naruto._

_If I did, Tenten would own a gun, because can you imagine how crazy she would be with _that_ kinda weapon?_

XxXx

**Three: Fangs**

The tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife as the two stared at each other unblinking for what seemed like hours. He was glowering at her as if her very presence was invasive and she stared at him uncaring as if he was a dead bug on a window.

And then Sakura sneezed, shattering the enmity in an instant.

"Sorry," she grumbled, reaching across the island for a napkin to wipe her nose with. Sasuke smirked as if the sneeze had asserted his dominance over her and strode forward towards the fridge. Kabuto just sighed and sat down.

"I hadn't realized Orochimaru would retrieve her so soon." Sasuke said, biting into a tomato.

"The sooner, the better." The other man answered.

"She's sitting right here," Sakura huffed. The Uchiha barely glanced at her but turned back to the other man and began talking again.

_Did he just do what I think he did?_

"I still don't understand why Orochimaru would choose _her. _It's not as if she belongs to any clan or is any relation of importance. She's not even strong."

Sakura felt her jaw drop. _I've been snubbed! _

"Orochimaru-sama does a lot of stuff you wouldn't understand. And it's not like he's in any premise to tell you." Kabuto drifted his gaze to the raven haired man, whose lips curled up in distaste as this declaration. She would have pointed out that just a few hours ago he had told her he didn't know either, but she felt to smug after seeing the sour look on Sasuke's face to voice this.

"And if you bothered to pay any sort of attention to anything besides your brother you'd know that Sakura-hime here is the apprentice to the Hokage, a _high-ranking _position," Kabuto emphasized, "As well as Chunnin, a rank you, yourself have yet to achieve and Second-In-Command among all Fire Nation med-nins with the highest authority to all medical personnel, save for the Hokage herself."

When he was done, he sounded as if he was explaining this to a grade schooler who simply had asked the same question one too many times. Sakura, however didn't notice as she was grinning widely as the enraged expression on her old teammates face. He turned to look at her as she morphed her look into one of innocence.

He glared at her, before getting up and leaving the table, slamming the door to the kitchen on his way out. She was left alone with Kabuto who was rubbing his temples and muttering darkly under his breath.

She felt slightly bad that he had stood up for her like that and she didn't have anything to give him in return. So she stood up and made her way around the kitchen, familiarizing herself with the contents. Finding everything she needed, she grabbed some food, cooking utensils, and began to cook.

She was very much aware that Kabuto was watching her every move with the eyes of a hawk, but found she didn't care that much since she had done that same to him earlier. When she was done, she turned around and held a bowl out for him.

He eyed it speculatively and questioningly, so Sakura pursed her lips. "You haven't eaten anything, right?"

He shook his head slowly. "Well, okay then."

She sat the bowl in front of him and sat down herself. He studied the food almost as suspiciously as she had, causing Sakura to snort. _Hypocrite..._

Apparently, satisfied by what he had saw he picked up the chopsticks and tentatively took a bite.

After a second he spoke. "It's good."

Sakura ginned and motioned for him to eat more.

"I wasn't aware you knew how to cook Sakura-hime," He said, eating some more.

"Well, you know all Naruto eats is Ramen, and all Kakashi and Sasuke eat are prepackaged already made stuff. Somebody on the team needed to learn how to cook."

His eyes flickered over the top of his frames to look at her. "I understand. It's been a long time since I've had a homemade meal." He paused. "A good homemade meal in any rate."

Despite herself, she blushed slightly. "Gee thanks."

He frowned. "Something wrong?"

"Well, it's not everyday you get complimented by your enemy over your quality of cooking." She leaned back in her chair.

"Due to the treaty, we are no longer enemies."

Her green eyes found his as she tilted her head to the side calculating. "The treaty doesn't change ones... personal feelings."

Kabuto put down the chopsticks in the bowl and leaned forward, linking his fingers together to rest his chin on. "No, I suppose not."

She didn't answer, instead, found the swirling designs on the dark counter top interesting. The silence between them stretched on, Sakura aware that Kabuto was watching her in a way that made her think he found her intriguing. When she could no longer stand the silence, she made to get up but was stopped by the sound of his voice.

"Do you hate me Sakura-hime?"

She slowly brought her gaze to match his and pursed her lips together. "I do."

"Why?"

She blinked in surprise at the question and sputtered. "W-what?"

He sat back in his chair and cocked an eyebrow at her. "Why," he repeated.

"Because you hurt my friends," she answered angrily.

"So then, by your definition, anyone who hurts anyone else is an enemy in your eyes, correct?"

She nodded her head stiffly. He fixed her with a stare. "So then you are Naruto's enemy."

She blinked again. "What?"

"Haven't you been ignoring him, who remains hopelessly in love with you, paying all your attention to Sasuke, and in turn hurting Naruto," He asked.

Sakura felt heat rise to her face. "That is completely different! You're an enemy of Konoha and I am a Konoha nin!"

He picked up the chopstick and twirled it in between his fingers. "But now, thanks to the treaty, we are no longer enemies of the state."

Sakura felt her jaw slacken and she sank into the chair opposite of him. "I am not having this conversation." She groaned, putting her head in her hands. She missed the way Kabuto's mouth twisted into an ugly grin before it disappeared and was replaced with indifference.

Finally she lifted her head. "You can't force me to not hate you."

"Oh, I know."

"So what's your point." She asked exasperated.

"I wonder." He mused and began to eat again. She stared at him, hardly daring to believe that he was sitting right there and questioning if she didn't just wake up and fall into a different dimension. Was Kabuto actually trying to question her morals and beliefs or was he... attempting to become _friends_? Although, now that she thought about it, if she was stuck here in this dump (and it did look like it was going to turn out that way) it would be nice to have a friendly chat or two every so often with somebody. Even if that somebody was Kabuto Yakushi.

He finished his food and sighed in satisfaction. "Please feel free to make more food any time you wish."

She nodded her head slowly. "Thanks?"

"After all, it would be good to eat something satisfactory every once in a while and. "He grinned. "This is the place that a woman would be all day."

_Did he just make a sexist joke?_

Now she was sure she was in a different dimension.

Sakure felt faint slightly and resumed putting her head in her hands. Kabuto stood and took the bowl to the sink, where he once again, washed and put them away.

"So why did you cook me food. You have no obligation to..." he trailed off, unsure on how to word what he was trying to say. She looked up at him through her fingers and shrugged. "You helped me with Sasuke."

He smirked slightly and shook his head as if finding her statement amusing. "It's my duty to help you when you need it. I am Orochimaru's second and you are his betrothed. Even in trivial matters like Sasuke, it is in my best interest to help you."

Sakura looked at him as if she couldn't quiet believe he was standing there. This was the man who had all but helped tear her team apart and he was offering to help her.

"I did walk into a different dimension..." she breathed.

Kabuto chuckled. "Well let me be the first one to welcome you here, then."

Sakura shook her head in confusion.

XxXx

The rest of the day Kabuto escorted Sakura around the base showing her various rooms she was allowed in and not allowed meanwhile introducing her to people. She suspected that was less for her information and more to the other people as a warning that she was here as a guest and not an enemy. She figured it was stop anymore incidents of surprise from occurring like this morning with Sasuke.

She didn't mind at all to tell the truth. In this way, there was less of a danger to herself. Not to mention that it was nice in a way to know that she wasn't confined to just her bedroom and the kitchen like she half believed. Instead, it seemed only private chambers were forbidden from being entered. Even her room was not allowed to be accessed without her permission though Kabuto said he would bring her tea or coffee every morning and inform her of any decisions made on her status as Orochimaru's betrothed.

She thought that was fair enough. Even if she didn't like Kabuto, he was a liaison now. That didn't mean she trusted him. Even now she walked several steps behind him, eyes glued to the back of his head, looking for any sign that he would suddenly snap and hurt her. She could tell that he was having a hard time not reacting to the killer intent leaking from her body, but she didn't care about that either. At least he would know where she stood on his attempt at diplomatic friendship or whatever he was calling it.

Finally after a long tour of the facility she was in, Kabuto escorted her outside. She blinked at the sudden light, blinded for a moment.

When she adjusted to the sunlight she found herself standing in a garden. The front walkway was covered in stepping-stones, leading to various sections. In the far corner was a pond, a waterfall splashing into the crystal clear waters that led down to a small stream a smaller waterfall that fed in a Koi pond; a small bridge fixed over the stream. Off to the side, she could see was a patch of grass, several meters wide and across. The garden was full of blooming flowers of every color and type. From what she could see, there were sections dedicated to vegetables, fruits, herbs, and medical plants. Towards the back, barely noticeable by the trees and vines that snaked their way across the garden was a green house.

"Holy shit." Sakura breathed out in wonderment. It was, it was sad to say, the most impressive garden she had ever seen to date. Even the Hyuuga's had nothing on this botany.

The impressive state of the place gave away to a coldness in the pit of her stomach like ice as she realized, beautiful or not, where exactly she was standing. Her jaw snapped shut and her eyes narrowed.

"Why are you showing me this Kabuto?"

"Every single plant here has a purpose. Should you ever need a use for it, you can find it here." He told her, as she turned back to glance back at the flowers. A closer look at them did prove that, yes, each one here was useful for some sort of purpose or another. Whether it was just for beauty or medication.

"That lab I showed you earlier, you have permission to use it when you need to, per Orochimaru-sama's orders. You can get your ingredients here," He said, motioning to the garden. Green eyes widened as the medic and scientist in her squealed in delight.

'I- thanks," she said softly, touched slightly.

He dipped his head in acknowledgment and led her back inside. They finished touring the facility with Kabuto taking her back to her room and telling her he would be by in three hours to pick her up for an inauguration of sorts.

She collapsed on the bed, still messy from that morning, and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes before sighing. The weight of what was happening to her began to feel as if it was crushing her chest and she chocked back a sob.

She had held back the feelings since Kabuto had been around her and she didn't want him to see her lose it and cry. She had always been a little weak when it came to following Shinobi Rule Twenty-five, but she'd be damned if she was going to allow him to see that side of her. She was a ninja damn it and she was to always follow her commander's orders without questioning them.

Her commander was Tsunade and she had never questioned the woman before, but now...

Sakura rose her hand to touch it to the betrothal necklace sitting on the nape of her neck.

But now she was at a loss of what to do. This was a situation she definitely didn't want to be in but if she made a run for it, how many people would suffer for her selfishness? Orochimaru would decree the treaty broken and as a law be allowed to freely attack Konoha without fear of repercussion.

That made her wonder if that's what he wanted her to do.

She turned over on her side and hugged a pillow to her chest trying to squash the ache in her chest. She felt alone in her situation and to make matters worse, she hadn't been able to say good-bye to any of her friends or family.

Her throat tightened and her vision blurred, causing her to leap from the bed and run into the bathroom. She fumbled with the valve on the shower for a moment, before a spray of water began to hit the bathroom tiles with a roar.

A dam broke inside of her and she collapsed on the side of the bathtub, sobs racking her body so hard she shook. The sound of the water drowned out the sound of her crying as she wrapped her arms around her body and collapsed against the wall. All too soon her tears dried up and she sat back, letting the mist of the shower spray against her face, calming her down slightly.

A few minutes later, she stood, shedding herself of her clothing and stepping into the shower. The water cascading down her skin felt wonderful and slightly comforting. She stood like that for a few more minutes before she opened her eyes and dropped her gaze to the soap and shampoo laid out for her. She reached for them and began to work the soap on her body, feeling calmer each second she did it, as if she was washing away the pain and weariness.

She finished and got ready for inauguration, somehow knowing that Kabuto was going to be punctual and not tolerate her being late a single minute. Just as she thought he arrived right on time. There was a pause upon seeing her but if he noticed she had cried, he didn't say anything.

He led her to the other side of the facility and into a large room. Most of the nin she had met earlier that day were there and quiet a few she hadn't met yet. Kabuto steered her towards a back room, knocked once on the door, and entered inside.

Sakura didn't need eyes to see that Orochimaru and Sasuke were standing there. Orochimaru stopped mid sentence to turn and look at her curiously while Sasuke, no doubt still fuming from their encounter earlier that morning was sneering at her.

She dipped her head politely remembering diplomatics. It wouldn't do for her to be less than appeasing. Especially since she figured that he would use any excuse to claim the treaty broken and go to war. She kept her eyes fixed around Orochimaru's throat, refusing to look him in the face. He didn't seem to mind though as he continued to stare at her peculiarly.

Kabuto steered her further into the room to a table where she was seated to the left of the head. Kabuto sat directly in front of her with Sasuke sitting beside him and Orochimaru at the head. Several more people entered the room, all shinobi judging by the clothing they were wearing and sat around the table.

After a moment the chattering died down and Orochimaru grinned down at them. He waved his hands towards the table and Sakura watched mildly interested as more shinobi brought food and sake in. She studied the food apprehensively, looking for any signs that it was poisoned causing Orochimaru to chuckle to her side and Kabuto to sigh heavily.

Finding nothing wrong with the dish and deciding once again, that if it was poisoned she wouldn't mind dying and not having to marry That-Snake-Bastard-Orochimaru; she picked up her chopsticks and took a bite.

Her eyes watered in amazement as the taste filled her mouth and throat. It was amazing, the textures and flavors all blended together perfectly. Sakura had a new goal to hunt down the person that made these foods and demand/blackmail/con them into teaching her.

When the meal was done, Orochimaru stood holding his hands out in front of him. "Today, marks the day in Sound history where we achieve peace with our Leaf counterparts. A treaty has been established between our two war torn countries. As a medium to seal our cease-fire, a... wife has been given to me: Sakura Haruno."

He looked down at her, but she was busy staring at her fists that rested in her lap. She clutched them so tightly, her knuckles turned white. Her jaw clenched, she raised her head and gave the best smile she could.

"Sakura-san." Orochimaru's voice was velvety like liquid poison. "Do you have any words to say?"

She worked her jaw, prying them apart, before painfully speaking through a throat so tight it made her eyes burn. "It's just a useless accomplishment. I think no one can continue without some kind of peace. I'm not here for a welcome reception. I'm a sacrificial goat."

Silence greeted her words as she felt every eye on her. Then Orochimaru began to chuckle.

She snapped her gaze up at him, somewhat dumbfounded.

"Of course. Nobody said you weren't otherwise. You should be honored to be the _sacrificial goat_ for your country."

Sakura felt her throat tighten even further as she stared into his amber-colored eyes. He stared back coldly and oddly enough, daringly. She was frozen in her chair, beads of sweat traveling down her back, and she was suddenly very much aware that she was staring at, not a man she should hate, but a man she should fear.

The uncomfortableness of the situation hit her like a ton of bricks. He wasn't just somebody she had to marry, he was someone who the Third Hokage had trouble fighting. Kabuto wasn't just her liaison, he was someone who had killed seven ANBU during the Chunnin exams. These weren't just people who were effected by the treaty. These were criminals who had fled their own country for selfish reasons. And she was sitting among them enjoying Blue Fin Tuna.

Orochimaru turned to her and smiled and without saying a word she knew exactly what he was speaking. _Sacrificial goats are meant to be slaughtered._

Her stomach tightened as she froze for a single second before a bead of sweat dripped off her chin and splashed onto her fist. Then she was bolting out the door, a crash behind her made her vaguely aware that the chair she had been sitting in had fallen to the ground.

Her feet pounded on the ground as she fled away from them, fear pushing her further and further into the facility until she burst through a door and found herself in the garden. Feeling much like a little kid hiding under a bed away from a thunderstorm; she slid under a bush and positioned herself so that nobody could see her through the foliage.

Her breath came out in gasps as she tried to control the erratic beating of her heart. Just when she was sure that her heartbeat was returning to normal, she heard the door to the garden open and close. Her breath caught in her throat as the person moved around.

Then it was quiet and she wondered if the person hadn't moved into the green house, before their feet suddenly landed in front of the bush she was in. It took every ounce of self-control to stop her from screaming. The feet remained stationary for a second before moving back towards the door and back inside.

She let out a breath once again and relaxed. It had been a long time since she had feared death, but being almost powerless in an enemy stronghold had brought that fear back. Tears welled up on lashes and fell down her face. She cried silently for several minutes before the cool night breeze and floral scent wafting through the air made her drowsy. Underneath the safety of her cover, she drifted off into a light sleep filled with the sounds of cruel laughter and mocking golden eyes.

A few hours later, Sakura woke to the sound of screaming.

XxXx

**TBC in Chapter Four**

**Please Review! **


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